Woke up late on Saturday and again showed up later than I would have liked for training. Truth told, I wasn't convinced that I'd be able to get in some mat time on Saturday. But the schedule was clear and - as much as I overslept - I was still able to get there for the last few minutes of the skill session.
The technique was the half guard knee block pass that Rodrigo showed us on Friday and earlier in the week. It was great to be able to work on the move one more time - it was also great to see Clint back on the mat, as well as Sauleh, who showed up in time for the free sparring session afterwards.
I managed to get in a three sparring sessions: one with a good-sized blue belt that I didn't recognize, then some time with Scott and his endless guard and then finished up an exhaustive roll with Joe. One of the things I did like about today's sparring was the way I moved to work some cross guard and did some good leg transitioning to get from my weak half guard side to my good half guard side.
About that cross guard: guys are starting to get vertical and hide the leg when I attack with the open hook. I need to start transitioning to a sitting guard when they do this insofar as they are pretty much giving me a single leg takedown. The key is making the quick transition.
A very good day on the mat. It was nice to hang out a bit afterward with Nate, Jesse and a couple of other guys just shooting the shiite. Among the numerous things I like about training is that it gives me a chance to slow the outside world down and spend some time on the "inside" world at my pace. Saturdays - like no other day of training - provide the perfect opportunity for just that.
